Kind of off topic, but what is swaying you toward Vandy over Duke? Is it mostly the higher scholarship amount or your perception of the quality of life/quality of the school?

Great question. My parents wonder the same thing. It's not that much more money (3 K per year) and Duke is more highly ranked, but Vandy is closer to my long term girlfriend (it's been 3+ years, and the past year apart while she's in med school in Alabama has been rough) and I LOVE its friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. Plus its the only T20 school to improve it's job placement last year (but that's really just a justification for what is really coming down to a gut decision)

Do I sound crazy?

Not at all. And I'm guessing your g/f is at school at UAB, which is barely a three hour drive to Nashville.

Kind of off topic, but what is swaying you toward Vandy over Duke? Is it mostly the higher scholarship amount or your perception of the quality of life/quality of the school?

Great question. My parents wonder the same thing. It's not that much more money (3 K per year) and Duke is more highly ranked, but Vandy is closer to my long term girlfriend (it's been 3+ years, and the past year apart while she's in med school in Alabama has been rough) and I LOVE its friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. Plus its the only T20 school to improve it's job placement last year (but that's really just a justification for what is really coming down to a gut decision)

Do I sound crazy?

Not at all. And I'm guessing your g/f is at school at UAB, which is barely a three hour drive to Nashville.

You guessed right. We've made the drive before, and it's the easiest thing in the world.

And no, I've never heard anything negative about Vanderbilt. Except they have next to no extracurricular theatre. That's about the worst thing I can come up with.

Well, the only negative I see is that 20 years from now you wont be able to say "I went to a top-10 law school." However 20 years from now I dont think that will matter (hopefully).

I also don't like that they don't rank students. If I bust my ass to finish at or near the top I want some credit for it. That said, if I finish at the bottom it's a good thing.

Those are both attitudes that are very common among top law students (and I'm certainly not judging them) but I think that competitive spirit is exactly what Vandy wants to get away from, which is why those whose priorities are in line with what you mention probably won't choose Vanderbilt.

Well, the only negative I see is that 20 years from now you wont be able to say "I went to a top-10 law school." However 20 years from now I dont think that will matter (hopefully).

I also don't like that they don't rank students. If I bust my ass to finish at or near the top I want some credit for it. That said, if I finish at the bottom it's a good thing.

Those are both attitudes that are very common among top law students (and I'm certainly not judging them) but I think that competitive spirit is exactly what Vandy wants to get away from, which is why those whose priorities are in line with what you mention probably won't choose Vanderbilt.

credited. That said, I still personally think "I went to Vanderbilt" sounds better than "I went to Michigan" or "I went to Penn" and especially "I went to Chicago" in regard to laymen. With THAT said, laymen don't matter in the legal world.

credited. That said, I still personally think "I went to Vanderbilt" sounds better than "I went to Michigan" or "I went to Penn" and especially "I went to Chicago" in regard to laymen. With THAT said, laymen don't matter in the legal world.

Eh, I think "I went to Penn" sounds much worse than "I went to Chicago" since people associate it with a state school, but I'm very biased from the ego trauma I've suffered as a Penn grad.

credited. That said, I still personally think "I went to Vanderbilt" sounds better than "I went to Michigan" or "I went to Penn" and especially "I went to Chicago" in regard to laymen. With THAT said, laymen don't matter in the legal world.

Eh, I think "I went to Penn" sounds much worse than "I went to Chicago" since people associate it with a state school, but I'm very biased from the ego trauma I've suffered as a Penn grad.

Well, the only negative I see is that 20 years from now you wont be able to say "I went to a top-10 law school." However 20 years from now I dont think that will matter (hopefully).

I also don't like that they don't rank students. If I bust my ass to finish at or near the top I want some credit for it. That said, if I finish at the bottom it's a good thing.

Those are both attitudes that are very common among top law students (and I'm certainly not judging them) but I think that competitive spirit is exactly what Vandy wants to get away from, which is why those whose priorities are in line with what you mention probably won't choose Vanderbilt.

Clarification: They do publish where the top 20% cutoff is so if you do bust your ass you can put that on your resume. Plus, employers coming to Vanderbilt for some reason seem to think our median is lower than it actually is so it benefits all the students.

Well, the only negative I see is that 20 years from now you wont be able to say "I went to a top-10 law school." However 20 years from now I dont think that will matter (hopefully).

I also don't like that they don't rank students. If I bust my ass to finish at or near the top I want some credit for it. That said, if I finish at the bottom it's a good thing.

Those are both attitudes that are very common among top law students (and I'm certainly not judging them) but I think that competitive spirit is exactly what Vandy wants to get away from, which is why those whose priorities are in line with what you mention probably won't choose Vanderbilt.

Clarification: They do publish where the top 20% cutoff is so if you do bust your ass you can put that on your resume. Plus, employers coming to Vanderbilt for some reason seem to think our median is lower than it actually is so it benefits all the students.

Clarification: They do publish where the top 20% cutoff is so if you do bust your ass you can put that on your resume. Plus, employers coming to Vanderbilt for some reason seem to think our median is lower than it actually is so it benefits all the students.

ahh.. good to know.. I dont believe that is in the Obiter Dictum

I think it is in there somewhere, just not where you would think it would be. I also got the impression that they try to distribute grades somewhat evenly among students, aka if you get all A's in other courses, you're more likely to get a B+ than someone with worse overall grades and a similar performance in the class. A little bit socialist if that's true, but probably helps everyone find good jobs!

Clarification: They do publish where the top 20% cutoff is so if you do bust your ass you can put that on your resume. Plus, employers coming to Vanderbilt for some reason seem to think our median is lower than it actually is so it benefits all the students.

ahh.. good to know.. I dont believe that is in the Obiter Dictum

I think it is in there somewhere, just not where you would think it would be. I also got the impression that they try to distribute grades somewhat evenly among students, aka if you get all A's in other courses, you're more likely to get a B+ than someone with worse overall grades and a similar performance in the class. A little bit socialist if that's true, but probably helps everyone find good jobs!

Sorry but this is completely untrue. Grades are managed by the professors themselves and each determines their own curve.

sdv wrote:right I had heard that, but the Obiter Dictum did say "The distribution of grades is closely watched, so very few people will have a 4.0"

Lol I know the people who wrote that. Anyways, the only way to truly control that is to put the professor on a kind of probation. I know for instance that one first year professor specially gives 10 students a semester C's while there are other professors might give 1. Bottom line as you know is that virtually no one gets even near a 4.0. The 20% cutoff this past semester was like a 3.52 so you could imagine that likely 10% was 3.65 etc.

I'm still waiting to hear back from several t14s, but so far Vandy is the best school to accept me, they've offered me a decent amount of money, and i've heard NOTHING but very positive feedback on the school/people/environment/nashville. It will be really tough if i end up getting in somewhere better.

sdv wrote:I did (81 k) and got denied. I also thought I'd wait for my USC offer (I ended up not waiting) but it was slightly lower than Vandy's offer. I tried to negotiate with 72 K from Duke and 90 K from IUIUC.

Still 99.999% going there though!

Kind of off topic, but what is swaying you toward Vandy over Duke? Is it mostly the higher scholarship amount or your perception of the quality of life/quality of the school?

I know that wasn't directed towards me... but for me it is, in order of preference...1) Scholarship2) Location (I think I'd enjoy Nashville MUCH more than Durham, after 1L of course)3) Where I want to work (south or Midwest, but Duke is strong there as well)4) other reasons I can't put my finger on, but it just feels more right.

I know exactly what you mean by the bolded part.

I think it's important to go to the school that feels right, not necessarily the school that is highest ranked or even that gives the most money.

EVERYTHING about your trip will blow you away. The campus, the city, the friendliness of the people, the obviously happy dispositions of the students, even the lady who works the front desk - the hospitality is real.

EVERYTHING about your trip will blow you away. The campus, the city, the friendliness of the people, the obviously happy dispositions of the students, even the lady who works the front desk - the hospitality is real.

I'm visiting next weekend. Too bad I couldn't make it for the ASD, but hopefully I don't miss out on too much. I'm really excited to see it. I never really did any college visits, and I haven't done any law school visits yet. I'm worried that I'll look like a total jackass, not knowing what to do or what questions to ask.

EVERYTHING about your trip will blow you away. The campus, the city, the friendliness of the people, the obviously happy dispositions of the students, even the lady who works the front desk - the hospitality is real.

I'm visiting next weekend. Too bad I couldn't make it for the ASD, but hopefully I don't miss out on too much. I'm really excited to see it. I never really did any college visits, and I haven't done any law school visits yet. I'm worried that I'll look like a total jackass, not knowing what to do or what questions to ask.

There's not a lot to it. They're really friendly and just show you the facilities, hit their talking points about the school, etc.